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84-year old Ava Mukherjee, familiar face on Indian ad films, plays Grandma Detective.Photo: movietalkies.com
MUMBAI / MiD-DAY / Features / May 20, 2009
Filmmaker Romilla Mukherjee tells Aditi Sharma how she directed her mother Ava, a familiar face on Indian ad films, to make a film about a grandma who can give Karamchand a complex
The story of a senior citizen detective
By Aditi Sharma
Every time Romilla Mukherjee gets the chance to talk about her debut film, her face lights up the way a new mom's does while chatting about her baby. The excitement is palpable even though she claims she so busy that the achievement of having created Detective Naani, a full-length feature, hasn't sunk in.
Grasping the nuances of being a propah director, she listens carefully as her publicist dishes out tips for the media screening. We caught up with the ad filmmaker-turned-film director, minutes before the first cut of the film arrived at her residence.
You have a mass media degree, but no formal training in filmmaking. And yet, here you are writing, directing and producing a film.
Yeah, I've always been a huge film buff. During the mass media course, my film professor would source films from the FTII archives, and I loved watching them. It sparked off something in me. I didn't train formally, but took up an internship with Imtiaz Dharker, a poetess who dabbles in corporate films. She is an artist with a tremendous sense of verbal and visual imagery. I didn't realise how much that would inspire me. Eventually, I broke away. Some things you learn only when you make your own film.
What was it like to move from advertising to making a full-length feature?
There was no one moment when I decided, "Okay, now I'm going to make a film". I was asked to write a one-liner for a Children's Film Society project, which I did as a favour. But they came back asking me for a synopsis, then a page, then a scene. Finally, I didn't want to give the concept away anymore. So, I got ambitious.
As far as the actual task of making the film went, it was similar to being dunked into the deep-end of a pool. A feature film is like a runaway train, in terms of the scale of the project and the sheer scope of cinema and what it can include, tends to make you under-utilise it sometimes. That was something I had to be careful about.
What genre would you say your film belongs to children's fantasy or murder mystery?
It's a film for everyone, 5 to 95 year-olds. There is a lot in it for kids but I've had senior citizens having a ball while watching it. The plot is almost like a storybook, so there's a hefty dose of drama. But although it starts off with something quite child-like in structure, the crime element to the plot lends it a serious streak. The mood is always upbeat, and the tone of the film is governed by the personality of its characters; a funky and quirky bunch.
Your movie is set in a megapolis. How much of Mumbai does Detective Naani mirror?
It reflects the Mumbai I know, where a large part of our history is erased, in terms of where you come from. For instance, it's hard to tell a Bengali from a Sindhi from a Punjabi or a Mangalorean. For the movie, we've created a generic universe: Naani is a Bengali but apart from a few moments when she's under stress, we don't make a big deal of the Bengali factor. The tremendous tolerance and ease with which you see different cultures adapt so that we end up having a slightly Westernised but still thoroughly Indian family, is amazing. That's what the film reflects the universality of Mumbai, its ability to include.
Related Story
Interview with Ava Mukherjee: Out with Daadi, in with Naani
How was it working with your mother, Ava Mukherjee? Did equations change on set?
It may sound politically correct but we don't have a regular mom-daughter relationship. She's a contemporary, she watches the same movies I do. She'll never miss a George Clooney film! So, she was clued in. It was more a collaboration. Only sometimes, I would have to push her because it was a hell of a tall order for someone her age.
@ 2008 MiD-Day Infomedia Ltd
84-year old Ava Mukherjee, familiar face on Indian ad films, plays Grandma Detective.Photo: movietalkies.com
MUMBAI / MiD-DAY / Features / May 20, 2009
Filmmaker Romilla Mukherjee tells Aditi Sharma how she directed her mother Ava, a familiar face on Indian ad films, to make a film about a grandma who can give Karamchand a complex
The story of a senior citizen detective
By Aditi Sharma
Every time Romilla Mukherjee gets the chance to talk about her debut film, her face lights up the way a new mom's does while chatting about her baby. The excitement is palpable even though she claims she so busy that the achievement of having created Detective Naani, a full-length feature, hasn't sunk in.
Grasping the nuances of being a propah director, she listens carefully as her publicist dishes out tips for the media screening. We caught up with the ad filmmaker-turned-film director, minutes before the first cut of the film arrived at her residence.
You have a mass media degree, but no formal training in filmmaking. And yet, here you are writing, directing and producing a film.
Yeah, I've always been a huge film buff. During the mass media course, my film professor would source films from the FTII archives, and I loved watching them. It sparked off something in me. I didn't train formally, but took up an internship with Imtiaz Dharker, a poetess who dabbles in corporate films. She is an artist with a tremendous sense of verbal and visual imagery. I didn't realise how much that would inspire me. Eventually, I broke away. Some things you learn only when you make your own film.
What was it like to move from advertising to making a full-length feature?
There was no one moment when I decided, "Okay, now I'm going to make a film". I was asked to write a one-liner for a Children's Film Society project, which I did as a favour. But they came back asking me for a synopsis, then a page, then a scene. Finally, I didn't want to give the concept away anymore. So, I got ambitious.
As far as the actual task of making the film went, it was similar to being dunked into the deep-end of a pool. A feature film is like a runaway train, in terms of the scale of the project and the sheer scope of cinema and what it can include, tends to make you under-utilise it sometimes. That was something I had to be careful about.
What genre would you say your film belongs to children's fantasy or murder mystery?
It's a film for everyone, 5 to 95 year-olds. There is a lot in it for kids but I've had senior citizens having a ball while watching it. The plot is almost like a storybook, so there's a hefty dose of drama. But although it starts off with something quite child-like in structure, the crime element to the plot lends it a serious streak. The mood is always upbeat, and the tone of the film is governed by the personality of its characters; a funky and quirky bunch.
Your movie is set in a megapolis. How much of Mumbai does Detective Naani mirror?
It reflects the Mumbai I know, where a large part of our history is erased, in terms of where you come from. For instance, it's hard to tell a Bengali from a Sindhi from a Punjabi or a Mangalorean. For the movie, we've created a generic universe: Naani is a Bengali but apart from a few moments when she's under stress, we don't make a big deal of the Bengali factor. The tremendous tolerance and ease with which you see different cultures adapt so that we end up having a slightly Westernised but still thoroughly Indian family, is amazing. That's what the film reflects the universality of Mumbai, its ability to include.
Related Story
Interview with Ava Mukherjee: Out with Daadi, in with Naani
How was it working with your mother, Ava Mukherjee? Did equations change on set?
It may sound politically correct but we don't have a regular mom-daughter relationship. She's a contemporary, she watches the same movies I do. She'll never miss a George Clooney film! So, she was clued in. It was more a collaboration. Only sometimes, I would have to push her because it was a hell of a tall order for someone her age.
@ 2008 MiD-Day Infomedia Ltd
